World Filter

The sound of the howling wind pushing through the surrounding crags was the only thing they heard for the first few seconds as everyone tried to come to terms with what had just happened. They had landed at the base of a destroyed Spire—an alarming revelation, since no one even knew these massive structures could be destroyed. What kind of catastrophe had befallen this place to leave it in such ruin?

Everyone stood in stunned silence, their minds still trying to catch up with the chaos that had just unfolded. Dust and ash thickened the air, swirling in choking plumes of brown and black. Mark squinted upward, searching for the sun, but it was nothing more than a dull glow, smothered behind a sky smeared with soot.

Then came the laughter—not joyous, but jagged and manic, skirting the edge of insanity.

Mark turned to see Terry collapsed in a heap, clutching his head.

Laughing with tears running down his cheeks.

Mark acted without thinking; he expanded a construct over them. Sealing all the noise and coating the outside with [Light control]. Doing his best to hide them. Unfortunately, with so many people here, all letting off their own energies, it wouldn't be long before something came knocking.

Nathan stepped forward with Wesley's help to try to quieten the man, but his actions had set everyone in motion. Whispers turned to gasps and cries of despair. Frantic expressions bloomed on shocked faces. Only those who had extensive combat experience were able to rein it in.

However, they were in the minority. Many were already tipping into hopelessness.

Mark wanted to help Nathan with Terry, but he had his own people to look after. Sarah was looking pale as she began muttering to herself.

"I just knew something bad was going to happen to us. Nothing had been right for so long. Why did I think this would be any easier?" she said, trembling.

Boe began to bark while sniffing around for Ethel and finding nothing. Jose was trying to comfort Zara, Misha, and Parker, but he looked just as concerned.

Callum looked like he was close to tears, as his mother had been next to him just seconds ago, and now he was all alone. Sam glanced at Mark before moving to comfort the child. They needed to take action to get a handle on the situation, or things were going to get worse.

They were used to fighting impossible odds, but none of them expected to be thrown into an unfamiliar place with people who weren't battle-ready.

Andy was right beside Mark, but he looked at him with wide eyes.

"Yo, boss, what are we doing? Do you think we'll be able to get home?"

Mark wanted to tell him that he'd take them home no matter what, but he just wasn't sure of anything at the moment. It felt like he was thinking through molasses.

Andy must have been able to tell because he grew quiet after that. He wasn't the only one looking to them for answers. The people under their care turned to look at them.

Mark opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he saw Jason heading towards them. His people were behind him with Ning Wei hot on his heels.

Seeing they were coming to discuss things, Mark put a reassuring hand on Andy's shoulder and turned towards the arriving parties

Jason wore a grave expression matched only by his tense shoulders.

"What the hell is going on? Did you guys know this would happen?"

Jonathan stepped forward.

"Of course not! You think we would have gone along with this if we had?"

"Ning Wei said the idea was originally yours, and we have reason to believe you have information the rest of us don't. If you know anything, please, we need to know now."

Jonathan frowned.

"Now hang on, we know nothing more than you–"

Jason got in close.

"Don't lie to me!" he growled.

Before Jonathan could puff out his chest, Sam stepped in between them.

"Both of you relax. Now, we have no idea what's going on, just like you. Pointing fingers won't get us the information we need. So, I suggest we have anyone with scouting abilities use them now. The only thing we can be certain of is that we are all in danger, and that we need to work together on this."

Nathan had heard the disruption and made his way over, his calm more impressive now than ever.

"Mrs Wei, so you do not have a couple of individuals suited to reconnaissance? I can help organise a response team."

Before they could do anything, one of the tenders from behind Jason spoke up. Mark didn't know his name, but he was in his mid-thirties. He looked desperate as he glanced between everyone.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Is that really all you guys can come up with? Take a look around?! We're about to die, and the best you have is to take a look around!?"

Jason furrowed his brow as he tried to reassure the guy, but that only seemed to make the man more desperate.

"No! I should never have been involved in this. I'm not like you guys, I'll die if anything comes our way. How do I forfeit? System! I want to forfeit!"

Sam's eyes widened, and she reached towards the man, but it was too late. It was clear by the distant look and relief flooding his face that the system had prompted him.

He must have selected yes to whatever it had asked him because the next thing they knew, there was a small pulse of Mana, and one of Jason's fellow soldiers disappeared in a flash of silver. With that one action, their numbers dropped to fifty-nine.

However, the tender remained. His smile of relief was replaced with horror.

Mark felt his stomach drop. This wasn't right

Jason's eyes turned to pick pricks, and he grabbed the man by his shirt.

"What the hell did you do?!" he growled.

"I-I-I just forfeited." The tender stuttered.

Jason looked like he was about to lose it when Sam stepped in again.

"Captain, not here. Not with them all watching," she said gently. "If I had to guess, he was sent back home."

Jason paused and bit the inside of his cheek.

Mark remembered the line from the system prompt. 'If the bound user forfeits or is killed, the Protector will be ejected.'

It didn't say what happened to the tender if a protector was killed, but right now, they had more pressing matters.

"He had better be, for your sake, Benny," Jason growled at the tender.

At this moment, Mark realized what was making him feel so uneasy. The situation was bad, and they were still reeling, but Mark had spent time with Jason. He was a hothead, but he wouldn't normally go so far as to openly threaten a civilian.

Sam and Jonathan both frowned at Jason, though he was still too lost in the grief of losing his soldier to notice. Ning Wei looked close to unraveling, her gaze flicking anxiously across the group. Nathan had already disengaged from the conversation entirely, directing his scouts with terse commands. Meanwhile, Shelby and Gibby were locked in quiet discussion, weighing the implications and taking stock of their remaining supplies.

They were all beyond being paralyzed by fear at this point, but something was driving them to forget what was most important.

Everyone was doing what they could to manage the crisis, addressing logistics, strategy, and immediate threats.

But they were all overlooking one crucial thing: the frightened crowd. No one had yet stepped forward to offer reassurance or even an explanation. The silence was fast becoming its own kind of threat.

The fetid stink of Corruption hung in the air, making things far worse by sheer proximity.

They were all just spiraling, and Mark couldn't let that happen. His Prana was already mixed throughout the air, but there was so much Corruption here that none of it had managed to get to the people.

Mark reached down into his core and pulled a large packet of Prana to the forefront. Releasing it into the open air as a pulse. The Corruption burned wherever it came into contact with his energy, scattering in all directions.

At the same time, Mark worked in the smallest amount of [Fend pain] to calm their mental states. Nothing too extreme, but enough that everyone under his dome felt the edge of uncertainty fade.

His Prana fell over everyone, and the space within his construct finally stopped feeling so suffocating. Many stopped, slowed to a mild panic, and for the first time, they took a look around.

Mark then spoke up, his voice carrying strength to all corners of their landing site.

"Everyone, listen to me. I know you're scared, we all are. What just happened was overwhelming, and we're still trying to make sense of it. But right now, we need calm heads and cooperation.

Please, I'm asking for your patience. We will get through this, but only if we work together. Tenders, whatever happens, do not forfeit your bond. If you do, your Protectors will be pulled out, and that means fewer of us to keep you safe.

For now, we stay together. We stay sharp. And we stay focused. We will get home — but we need each other to do it."

His words mixed with the Prana in the air, creating a potent cocktail. Many faces still wore fear and worry, but now there was a hint of calm that had not been there before.

After that, it became easier to think, and the true extent of the Corruption's influence became obvious. Jason and Jonathan had stopped going for one another's throats, while Sam had a moment to think things through. Nathan and Gibby employed several scouting skills to better understand what was in their immediate vicinity.

The first thing they discovered was that they were in some kind of gorge or ravine. The mountains around them were like walls of rock on either side, offering protection from whatever was out there. But also preventing them from discovering much more than their immediate surroundings.

They still hadn't moved from their arrival point, but that was on purpose. They needed to make a plan before they just went charging into the unknown. Mark had sealed their energy in here, and he could still hold it together for a little while. They would have to move eventually, but for now, they were safe.

Everyone convened and agreed that the most pressing issue was to complete the quest given by the system. The problem was that they weren't sure how to do so efficiently. They had to find a working world conduit. So basically a Spire. Which was easier said than done until Gibby remembered the map function from the system.

What they found almost started another panic session.

Mark opened his map and looked at the planet-sized chart that appeared. The map revealed a world almost entirely different than the one they had known. Landmasses entirely unknown to them were neatly sectioned off within several sectors.

Unlike their own map, all sectors were visible here, though most were greyed out, including the one they currently occupied.

Only a single sector, almost a continent away, glowed in the system's distinct gold. But that wasn't what made Mark pause.

It was the swaths of black sprawled between them and their destination.

Mark was familiar with the map's functions. It displayed concentrations of Corruption in the area.

Where he was used to seeing faint orange across the map, occasionally broken by patches of red and the rare small black zone, this was entirely different.

This journey would take them straight through uncharted territory, riddled with uncertainty, and almost certain danger. Where the air alone could kill them. Their only saving grace was that their arrival point was at most a deep red, which would explain their extreme reactions on arrival. But everywhere else Mark looked, only black ink covered the land.

The only shred of hope found was the single glowing dot in the middle of the gold continent.